The defense secretary testified on the eve of the 60-day mark of the war, a major statutory deadline for the president to withdraw forces or seek approval from Congress to continue the fight.
During his first public appearance on Capitol Hill since the war began, the defense secretary lashed out at lawmakers in both parties who have questioned the conflict.
During his first public appearance on Capitol Hill since the war began, the defense secretary lashed out at lawmakers in both parties who have questioned the conflict.
“We’d rather not have to do it, but we’re ready to go at the command of our president and at the push of a button,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday.
President Trump knows that even if a cease-fire runs out with no final agreement on the issues dividing Washington and Tehran, the political risk of renewing hostilities is high.
General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a briefing on the war with Iran. He vowed that the force he leads would “always strike lawful targets.”
New details from the weeks leading up to the campaign show how President Trump’s alignment with Benjamin Netanyahu and a lack of sustained opposition from his inner circle put the United States on a course to war.
In a series of Situation Room meetings, President Trump weighed his instincts against the deep concerns of his vice president and a pessimistic intelligence assessment. Here’s the inside story of how he made the fateful decision.
The decision by President Trump to give the go-ahead to join Israel in attacking Iran was influenced by a presentation by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February that led to a series of discussions inside the White House over the following days and weeks.
President Trump has vacillated between boasting about U.S. military superiority and deep frustration that his war of choice is not always having the desired effects.
As the conflict with Iran expands and intensifies, President Trump’s options — to fight on, or to move toward declaring victory and pulling back — both carry deeply problematic consequences.
President Trump has wrestled publicly with his stay-or-leave options, sometimes suggesting that the war is all but won and at others seeming to acknowledge that there is still heavy fighting ahead.
At a news conference, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave no indication of how long it would take before the Navy could escort civilian cargo ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
“With every passing hour, we know, and we know they know, that the military capabilities of their evil regime are crumbling,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
Now 11 days into an expanding military campaign, President Trump and his officials have given conflicting indications on how long the United States intends the war to last.
President Trump’s embrace of military action in Iran was spurred by an Israeli leader determined to end diplomatic negotiations. Few of the president’s advisers voiced opposition.
Even as the president considers an attack, his State of the Union address offered little more than a brief repetition of vague talking points from recent days.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, left, and other military leaders listening to President Trump deliver his State of the Union address in the Capitol on Tuesday.
The remarks differ from what Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is said to have told the president in high-level White House meetings.
The top negotiators plan to meet in Geneva on Thursday for last-ditch talks, debating a new proposal that could create an off-ramp as two carrier groups massed within striking distance of Iran.
President Trump’s threat is the latest example of how he is trying to force Iranian leaders to see that they have no choice but to give up every aspect of their nuclear program.
Top military leaders from 34 countries plan to discuss improving efforts in the Western Hemisphere to fight drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations.
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